Jogunje Haman County Governor Promotes Economic Revitalization Infused with 2 Years of Historical and Cultural Development in the 7th Local Government Term

Gayari Site Designated as National Historic Site... First Successful Cultivation of Mongol Haman Watermelon

Haman County Governor Jo Geun-je celebrated his 2nd anniversary in office on July 1. During his tenure, Governor Jo achieved significant milestones such as the designation of the Gayari site as a national historic site, the cultivation of Haman watermelons in Mongolia, and exports to Singapore and Hong Kong. (Photo by Haman County)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] It has already been two years since Cho Geun-je, the mayor of Haman County, took office.

Marking his 2nd anniversary on July 1st, Mayor Cho has been tirelessly working to revitalize the local economy with a focus on historical culture. For the remainder of his term, he plans to implement policies tailored to the citizens' perspectives, centered on five major administrative guidelines: warm welfare and education, vibrant local economy, prosperous advanced agriculture, immersive cultural tourism, and balanced development through coexistence, with change, innovation, fieldwork, and communication as core values.

So far, Mayor Cho has achieved results such as the designation of the Gayari ruins as a national historic site, promotion of tourism resources linked to Akyang Embankment and Akyang Ecological Park, expansion of experiential tourism facilities at Ip-gok County Park, creation of Aragil using abandoned railway land, dissemination and expansion of smart factories, construction of a public funeral hall, successful cultivation of Haman watermelons in Mongolia, reclaiming the overall championship at the 58th Gyeongnam Provincial Sports Festival, and administrative organization restructuring.

In particular, from the moment he took office, Mayor Cho has emphasized "a tourism city centered on history and culture" as Haman's future growth engine. Haman is the birthplace of Ara Gaya and is one of the regions where active archaeological excavations are taking place. Since the government also supports projects such as restoration and excavation of Gaya history, much effort is being devoted to discovering tourism resources based on Ara Gaya, which remains deeply and mysteriously veiled.

As much effort was put in, results followed. The Malisan Tumuli Cluster is progressing toward final registration as a World Heritage site by July 2022, and last year, the Gayari ruins, known as the royal palace site of Ara Gaya, achieved the great feat of being designated as a national historic site, successfully elevating the status of Ara Gaya hidden under the veil.

Haman's representative specialty, the Haman watermelon, has also been developed to contribute to the local economy. Last year, Haman succeeded in cultivating Haman watermelons in Hang, Mongolia, a sister city, which is a good example. Based on agricultural facilities and infrastructure, active support is also being provided for the development of medium and late-ripening watermelon varieties, and cultivation of representative subtropical crops such as bananas and melons is actively underway.

In particular, Haman watermelons have newly pioneered the Hong Kong market, exporting a total of 20 tons over six shipments, and melons have also succeeded in consecutive exports to Singapore and Hong Kong, confirming unlimited market potential. Playing a key role as export champions, advanced horticultural industries are being fostered through smart farm facility infrastructure projects applying ICT convergence technology in facility horticulture, moving away from traditional cultivation methods.

On May 6, Haman County signed an MOU for joint marketing of Haman watermelons with the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and others to increase farm income and contribute to regional development. (Photo by Haman County)

Furthermore, Mayor Cho is dedicated to making Haman a business-friendly place by continuously implementing industrial complex environment improvement projects to enhance the productivity and efficiency of resident companies. With a total project cost of 790 million KRW, by September next year, the goal is to support more than 34 companies in the area through the construction and advancement of smart factories, and to strengthen the competitiveness of local manufacturing industries through industrial structure advancement such as the fusion of manufacturing and ICT technology.

Additionally, to stabilize and develop local small and medium-sized enterprises, 63.4 billion KRW was supported to 247 companies last year, and in the first half of this year, 58.8 billion KRW in management stabilization funds were loaned to 93 companies. Support funds for small business promotion have also been significantly expanded from 10 billion KRW to 30 billion KRW, and for small business owners with more than six months of operation, 80% of facility improvement costs up to 2 million KRW per store are supported.

As a result, Haman has received institutional commendations in 66 fields, including three consecutive years of excellence in city-county major task joint evaluations, the highest award in the 2019 city-county comprehensive evaluation, and the grand prize in the 2020 local tax administration comprehensive evaluation, receiving 2.13 billion KRW in prize money and awards. Furthermore, out of a total of 76 pledged projects across six fields, 30 have been completed, 44 are progressing normally, and 2 are delayed, indicating overall smooth implementation.

Mayor Cho Geun-je of Haman County said, "Over the past two years, I have been tirelessly working on the ground and communicating with citizens to firmly establish the foundation of county administration," adding, "During the remaining term, I will firmly commit to the administration to ensure that the projects currently underway do not lose momentum."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.